Scene and curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus.



G. S! HARDING & G. J. SPILMAN. somm AND CURTAIN TRIMMING AND HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1908. 924,349, A 1 Patented June 8,1909.

4 BHEBTB SHEBT 1.

w/nvessm- INVENTORS ATTORNEYS n1: NBRRIS PETERS ca, WASHINGYON. n. c.

0. s. HARDING & c. J. SPILMAN. SCENE AND CURTAIN TRIMMING AND HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION IILIED MAR. 18. 190B.

Onwa 9H 1B ,3 4 MM um R 8 4. b

INVENTORS Ch im ills 911771477;

ATTORNEYS WITNESSES:

v G. S. HARDING & 0. J. SPILMAN. SCENE AND CURTAIN TRIMMING AND HOISTING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAR.18. 1908.

924,349. Patented'June 8, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Ckgsferxi Hard) 7:}

ATTORNEYS.

THE NORRIS FEYEkS ca, wAsmum-ou, n c.

cps. HARDING & 0-. J..SPILMAN. SCENE AND GURTAIN PRIMMING AND HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1908.

Patented June 8, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

esjes rHE NORRIS PETERS co.. WASHINGTON, o. c

UNITED STA n'r Fro.

CHESTEIt S. HARDING AND CLINTON J. SPILMAN, OF SIDNEY, OHIO, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN HOISTING MACHINE OHIO, A CORPORATION OF-OHIO.

COMPANY, OF SIDNEY,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1909.

Application filed March 18, 1908. Serial No. 421,865.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHEsTER S. HARDING and CLINTON J. SPILMAN, citizens of the.

United States, and residents of Sidney, in the county of Shelby and State of Ohio ,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Scene and Curtain Trimming and Hoisting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. I

Our invention relates to apparatus for handling scenery, such as drops and curtains as used in theaters, by mechanical power and more particularly relates to apparatus whereby the drops or curtains can be properly trimmed and raised by mechanical means.

The main object of our invention is to dispense with the unsatisfactory and laborious task of raising the curtains by hand power as is the present practice.

Another object of our invention is to provide means whereby the curtain or drop will remain in a perfectly horizontal or trimmed position during the raising and lowering opform of apparatus constructed according to our invention, parts being shown in side elevation. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the preferred form of clutch used, the supporting standard being broken away. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line A, A, Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the clutch and brake-operating yoke. Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section through the locking collar. Fig. 9 is a top view of the same. F'g. 10'is a side elevation'of a detail; Fig. 11 is a similar view showing the same in disengaging position.

The curtains or scenes indicated at 1 are preferably provided with three lines or hoisting ropes 2 as is usual in the art, one end of the ropes being secured to the curtain by any suitable means such as a shackle or'two-part ring 3 engaging a ring or eye secured to the curtain as shown more particularly in Figs. 10 and 11, the idea being to provide means whereby the ropes can be readily detached from the curtain. I/Ve prefer to use wire rope or cord of a flexible non-elastic character instead of the usual manila rope as at present used where the scenes are operated by hand.

While we show and describe the curtain as provided with three ropes it is obvious that two. or more than three might be used, the invention being equally applicable no matter how many may be employed.

The ropes 2 pass over pulleys 4 suitably arranged as shown, each rope being secured at its other end to a drum 5. The drums 5 are freely mounted upon a shaft 6 which shaft is preferably the driving shaft of the apparatus as will presently be described. The driving shaft 6 receives its power from any suitable source such as an electric motor 7 geared thereto by a pinion 8 on the motor shaft in mesh with a gear wheel 9 keyed to one end of the shaft 6. The hoisting apparatus is preferably supported on a platform 10 elevated somewhat above the stage floor, the shaft 6 being journaled in bearings 11 carried by 7 suitable supporting stanchions or uprights 12. Referring more particularly to Fig. 3 the drums 5 of which there area number equal to thenumber of ropes mounted on the shaft 6 and capable of being moved longitudinally on the shaft 6 away from each other so that each of. the drums can be revolved independently of the others.

The adjacent faces of the drums 5 are provided with suitable means whereby the several drums may be coupled together and operate as one drum. The coupling of these drums together may be done in a number of ways, but we prefer to employ a crab clutch as shown, said clutch consisting of suitably formed teeth 13 laterally projecting from the face of each drum at or near the edge thereof and adapted to mesh with similar teeth on the adjacent face of the next drum. A number of holes 1 1 formed in the periphery of the I connected to the yoke 28 by a rod 31 secured drums are provided so that a suitable bar or rod may be inserted therein and the drums readily revolved by hand to tighten the tension on the ropes 2. The end drum of the series is provided with a circumferential flange 5 and forms the loose member of a clutch for coupling the drums to the driving shaft 6, the fixed member being indicated at 15. The form of clutch'we prefer to use is of the expanding band type, (see Figs. 5 and 6) the construction and operation of which is well known in the art and does not need any detailed description herein. The band 16 is carried by the fixed member 15 of the clutch and when expanded by turning the key 17, due to the depression of the free end of the lever 18 to which the key is secured, the band 16 engages the inner periphery of the flange 5 and couples the drum to the driving power. The free end of the lever 18 is depressed by the forward movement of the collar 19 slidably mounted on the sleeve 15 of the fixed member of the clutch.

A collar 26 freely mounted on the shaft 6 is provided with detents 21 which engage notches 22 in the shaft 6 when the drums have been longitudinally moved into engagement with each other and thus locking the drums together and preventing any further longitudinal movement of the drums in either direction. The detents are mounted in radial guides in the collar and are held pressed against the shaft by springs 23. It will be seen that while the collar is securely locked to the shaft and against the drums, it can very readily be withdrawn from this locked position, when it is desired to again separate the drums, by revolving the collar in the direction of rotation of the shaft.

The form of brake we prefer to use to control the unwinding of the drums after the curtain has been raised and the driving power uncoupled, consists of a split band 25 which engages the periphery of one of the drums and preferably on the outer periphery of the flange 5. The ends of the band 25 are provided with depending arms 26 having a curved outer surface (see Fig. 7) so that projections Working against these curved surfaces will force the band 25 to hold the drum 5 more securely as the projections rise on the curved surfaces of the arms 26 and vice versa. The means for operating the brake consists of adjustable screws 27 carried by a yoke 28 the ends of said screws riding upon the curved surfaces of the arms 26 when the yoke 28 is moved in a longitudinal direction. The yoke 28 has also pivotally connected thereto the forked lever 29 for operating the power clutch, the said lever being fulcrumed on an arm 12 extending from the stanchion 12.

30 indicates the operating lever for the power clutch and brake, pivotally mounted to the base of one of the stanchions and is to said. yoke and pivotally connected to the lever 30.

The lever 30 is provided with a detent 31 operated by a bell-crank 32 and which engages notches in a segment 33, to hold the operating lever 30 in any desired position.

Obviously the power might be applied at either end of the shaft and any number of units might be provided. and all mounted on the one shaft, the meaningof a unit herein being, the winding drums, their power clutch and brake. Obviously an individual operat; ing lever is required for each unit. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, three units are shown to operate three curtains or scenes.

In the operation of the apparatus assuming that the curtain or drop down and the individual drums separated from each other. The detent 31 of the operating lever would be in the notch at the extreme right of the segment, in which position the power clutch is thrown out and the brake is released. The operator, being provided with two small round bars, inserts one of them in one of the holes 14 in the periphery of the left hand drum. He then pulls the drum over by hand until he has obtained the right tension, on the rope connected to this drum and then holding this drum by means of the bar in his left hand, he inserts his second bar in a hole in the periphery of the middle drum, pulls this drum over until both ropes have the same tension and then he couples these two drums together by sliding the middle drum longitudinally to the left into engagement with the first drum by means of the crab clutch. He now removes his rod. from the first drum, holding the first and middle drums by means of the second rod and inserts the rod which he has removed in a hole in the periphery of the last drum. Then he pulls over the third drum until he has the same tension on the rope secured to this drum that he has on the first two ropes after which he slides this drum into engagement with the middle drum as in the case of the first two. He then pushes the locking collar 20 up to the last drum, which collar locks automatically to the shaft against the hub of the last drum and holds the three drums together as one unit. The operator now throws the lever to the left and when the detent 31 is in the notch at the extreme left the power clutch connects the drums to the driv- L lllO Obviously our invention is capable of various modifications in the manner of operating the power clutch and the brake by the control of a single lever or operating handle without departing from the spirit thereof and if desired electro-magnetic means might be employed as will suggest itself to any one skilled in the art.

What we claim as our invention is 1. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the drivingpower, of two or more independent drums freely mounted on their shaft, means for coupling one of said drums to the other and independent means for coupling said drums to the driving power after the drums are coupled to each other.

2. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the driving power, of two or more freely mounted drums adapted to be revolved independently of each other by hand to trim the curtain, means for coupling one of said drums to the other as a unit and independent means for coupling said drums to the driving power after the drums are coupled together.

3. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the driving shaft, of two or more drums freely mounted thereon adapted to be revolved independently of each other by hand to trim the curtain and capable of longitudinal movement on said shaft, means for coupling said drums to each other to form a single unit when moved longitudinally into engagement with each other and means for coupling said drums as a unit to said driving power.

4. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the driving power, of two or more freely mounted drums adapted to be revolved independently to trim the curtain and capable of longitudinal movement to and away from each other, means for coupling said drums together as a unit and means for locking said drums against longitudinal movement after coup ling them together.

5. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the driving shaft, of two or more drums freely mounted on said shaft adapted to be revolved independently to trim said curtain and capable of longitudinal movement on said shaft, means for coupling said drums together as a unit and longitudinally movable locking means adapted to engage said shaft after said drums are coupled together to prevent longitudinal movement of said drums.

6. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the driving shaft, of two or more drums freely mounted on said shaft adapted to be revolved independently to trim said curtain and capable of ongitudinal movement on said shaft, means for coupling said drums together as a unit,

and a collar longitudinally movable on said shaft and provided with radially movable locking means adapted to positively engage said shaft after said drums are coupled together.

7. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus the combination with the driving power, of two or more freely mounted drums adapted to be revolved independently of each other by hand to trim the curtain and capable of longitudinal movement to and from each other, means for coupling said drums together as a unit when moved longitudinally toward each other, a clutch operating on said drums for coupling said drums to the driving power after-the drums are coupled together, a brake operating on said drums adapted to control the revolution of said drums after the clutch has been released and an operating lever adapted to control both the clutch and the brake.

8. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus the combination with the driving power, of two or more freely mounted drums adapted to be revolved independently of each other by hand to trim the curtain and capable of longitudinal movement to and from each other, means for coupling said drums to each other when moved longitudinally toward each other, a clutch engaging said drums for coupling said drums to the driving power after the drums are coupled together, a brake operating on said drums adapted to control the revolution of said drums after the clutch has been released, and an operating lever connected to said clutch and said brake adapted in one position to release both the clutch and brake, in a second position to throw in the clutch and in a further position to release the clutch and apply the brake.

9. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the curtain and hoisting ropes secured thereto, of a driving shaft, two or more drums freely mounted thereon to which the said ropes are secured, one rope to each drum, said drums being independently revoluble to adjust the tension on said ropes and longitudinally movable on their shaft, means for coupling said drums to each other as a unit when moved longitudinally toward each other on said shaft and means operating on said drums for coupling said drums to the driving power to raise said curtain.

10. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the curtain and hoisting ropes secured thereto, of a driving shaft, two or more drums freely mounted thereon to which the said ropes are secured, one rope to each drum, said drums being independently revoluble to adjust the tension on said ropes and longitudinally movable on their shaft, means for coupling said drums to each other as a unit on said shaft, a powerclutch for coupling said drums to the driving power to raise the curtain and means operating on said drums to control the downward movement of said curtain.

11. In a curtain trimming and hoisting apparatus, the combination with the curtain and hoisting ropes secured thereto, of a driving shaft, two or more drums freely mounted thereon to which the said ropes are secured, one rope to each drum, said drums being independently revoluble to adjust the tension on said ropes and longitudinally movable on their shaft, means for coupling said drums to each other as a unit on said shaft, a clutch adapted to engage said drums to couple them to the driving power to raise the curtain, a brake operating on said drums and an operating lever adapted to control the raising and lowering of said curtain through said clutch and said brake.

Signed at Sidney in the county of Shelby and State of Ohio this tenth day of March A. D. 1908.

CHESTER S. I'IARDING. CLINTON J. SPILMAN. \Vitnesses:

MARIE BoNnAM, GALE CRUSEY. 

